Title

Author

Abstract

When sands are buried in sedimentary basins the additional overburden mechanically compact the sands to a denser configuration. Burial also increases temperature and the porosity is reduced by chemical compaction. Therefore, the geomechanical behavior of sandstones is to a large extent controlled by mechanical and chemical compaction. To investigate the relationship between the geological processes and geomechanical properties we conducted rock mechanical tests and petrographical analyses on different sandstones from the North Sea. For all tested sandstones with different degrees of cementation the peak strength is closely correlated with the Young's modulus. There seems to be a strong correlation between porosity and strength. This correlation was further improved by taking into account the primary layering. Sonic travel times also correlate with the peak strength and can be used as a method for calculating rock strength.